Tents
by greenolive
Summary: It's the coldest night on record, and it's hard to sleep if you don't have someone next to you to keep you warm. Team 8 fic.


So, this fic was inspired by my friend. We were talking about how we hated the cold, and then she started talking about sleeping in cold places.

"I don't care who you are. If it's cold, prepare to be my snuggle-buddy!" she said.

And so this story was born.

* * *

**Tents**

Team 8

"Damn, it's cold!" Inuzuka Kiba swore as he stepped into the small tent that he was sharing with his teammates. The wind howled in response, hastening his retreat into the flimsy shelter. "It's just like Tsunade-sama, sending us out like this!"

He received nothing but stares from his teammates, Hyuuga Hinata and Aburame Shino, who were quietly sitting and waiting for him to take his spot in their circle.

Grumbling, he sat down in his place and blew into his hands to keep himself warm. Konoha just _had_ to be under high alert now, in the dead of winter. And the Godaime just _had_ to send his team out to the _northern_ border on a surveillance mission.

"_Damn her. I bet she did this just to see me suffer,"_ he thought viciously. Now he was cranky and irritable. All he wanted to do was sleep, and that wasn't likely considering the below-zero temperatures.

Hinata could do nothing but silently offer her blanket to her fuming teammate who refused and commanded his dog to lie on his lap. Akamaru, curled up in a different corner of the tent, gave a low growl, unwilling to leave the spot he had just warmed up for himself.

"Thanks Akamaru," Kiba sarcastically snapped, "Thanks a lot. I feed you, walk you, bathe you, train you, and you won't even walk five steps to keep me alive."

Akamaru raised his head to yap once, and promptly settled back down for a nice, long sleep.

Furious, Kiba turned back to his teammates who had been planning out tomorrow's movements.

"We move one mile west along the border tomorrow," Shino stated, "There are supplies waiting for us, and then we move seven miles northeast to trade spots with Team Gai. There should be no problems unless the enemy decides to attack. The bugs tell me they won't until the day after tomorrow. Everyone understand?"

Hinata and Kiba nodded.

"Okay. We should get some sleep and rest up for tomorrow."

"How are we going to sleep in this cold?!?" Kiba wailed, "We'll freeze! At least Akamaru has fur!"

Shino stared for several moments before replying.

"We'll figure it out."

* * *

Hinata felt as if she was going to die from the cold. Already having two extra blankets, her sleeping bag, and all of her clothes layered on, she felt she would suffocate if she put on anything else. Her teammates, ever aware of her sensitivity to the cold, let her sleep between them. Even so, she was shaking and seriously considering sleeping next to Akamaru. Had she been anyone else, Hinata would have complained. But Hinata was Hinata, so she did not whine. At least not out loud. 

_Nnngh, it's so cold……but I don't want to be any more of a burden….and Akamaru looks so warm, I'm sure he won't mind if I sleep next to…._

Her thoughts were interrupted by a low voice calling her name. Turning her head to the left, she found that the speaker was Shino.

"Hinata-chan," he repeated, "If you are cold, you can come closer to me."

What? Had she heard correctly? Colder-than-the-weather-outside Shino was permitting her to come closer? She was slightly embarrassed, and was about to refuse until she heard Shino unzip his jacket slightly.

"You can use my body warmth," he stated solidly.

As embarrassed as she was, she was not so flustered as to want to deal with the frigid air. Cautiously, she inched her way over to Shino and settled herself next to him.

"_It's alright,"_ she thought, _"This is Shino, he is my teammate. I can trust him."_

Relaxing a little more, she allowed herself to grab the open edges of his trench coat and scoot in so that her face rested a few inches from his neck. Shino was surprised to feel his breath hitch when he felt her breath on his neck and her toes touching his shins, but he regained his composure quickly.

"_We are professionals here,"_ he assured himself, _"We are doing this because Hinata is cold, and the mission requires her to be in top physical condition. We are teammates and nothing more." _

But when he inhaled the pretty scent of her hair, something inside told him otherwise.

* * *

Meanwhile, Kiba had been miserable trying to sleep. He was half in and half out of consciousness, thanks to the biting cold. He was incredibly cranky and had curled into a tiny ball, much like Akamaru. 

"_I bet even Hell is cold tonight," _he thought. Suddenly, his canine instincts informed him that a heat source was moving away. A nice smelling heat source, to be exact. Letting his animal side take over, Kiba immediately sought out the warmth. He was cold, dammit, and nothing was going to stop him from being warm tonight! Still drowsy, he crawled towards the heat, closer and closer, until he reached a soft lump which he reached out and poked. He woke up completely when he heard the soft lump utter a tiny squeak.

"Whoa, sorry Hinata-chan. I didn't mean to…I'm sorry…I…"

"N-no, Kiba-kun. I-it's alright," she muttered, sitting up and turning to face him. In reality, it wasn't alright because she had almost been asleep. Shino awoke too and sat up, sensing Hinata's discomfort.

"What's wrong, Kiba?" he questioned, voice untouched by the grogginess of sleep.

"It's just so cold…."

Shino sighed and laid back on his sleeping back. He was not going to deal with Kiba now.

Hinata suddenly felt guilty for leaving one of her teammates out like that.

_That was so selfish of me, letting Kiba-kun get cold like that….._

"K-Kiba-kun," she whispered, "Y-you can s-s-sleep next to me i-if y-you like."

Kiba felt the beginnings of a blush form. Was Hinata really going to allow him to…?

_Kiba! Get a hold of yourself! Men don't blush because a woman asks them to sleep _next _to them! You are a man! Act like one!_

Kiba chuckled softly at himself.

_Oh yeah. Hinata-chan wants me._

Suddenly, Kiba felt _very _awake.

"Hehe, okay, Hinata-chan," he laughed as he slid in next to her. Shino had already resumed his sleeping position along with Hinata. She would have settled into a warm, peaceful sleep too, if it hadn't been for a suddenly very close Kiba who was wrapping an arm around her waist and burying his face into the back of her neck. Embarrassed beyond belief, she sat up and squeaked.

"K-K-Kiba-kun! W-w-what are you doing?"

Feeling Hinata's warmth leave him for the second time that night, Shino sat back up. He was getting irritated, and Dog-boy was not helping.

"Kiba, what are you doing?" he asked in the same sleep-free voice he had used earlier.

"Aww, go back sleep, Shino. Hinata and I are just getting warm here."

Hinata would have crawled out of there and ran into the night, but her old-lady fear of cold was still driving her. Instead, she moved away from Kiba and closer to Shino, clutching a little more tightly onto his jacket.

"Kiba, stop bothering Hinata-chan, or else."

"Shino, I wasn't really doing anything……..that bad. Right, Hinata-chan?" the Inuzuka chirped, taking her hand in his and biting her wrist gently. Hinata squealed and snatched her hand back, pushing further into Shino.

Shino sighed again and massaged the bridge of his nose. He was tired, he was cold, and Hinata was about to push him off balance into a very awkward position. This was not the time for Kiba to mess around.

"Kiba, just because Hinata offers to share her warmth with you does not give you the right to sexually harass her. She is doing this as a teammate, and is not wanting to 'get with you' or anything like that. Now please sleep."

"Okay, okay," Kiba resigned, lying back down on the tent floor, "Sorry, Hinata-chan."

"It's o-okay, K-kiba-kun. I know y-you w-were just t-t-teasing."

Team 8 resumed their previous sleeping position, minus an arm around a waist. It was finally quiet, and they rested peacefully.

Shino prayed that the calm would last.

Hinata prayed that it wouldn't be so cold anymore.

Kiba prayed that he could get in one last move.

Still feeling Hinata shiver slightly, Kiba slid one hand over to rest on her arm. He knew Shino was watching him.

_Take this, Shino! Hinata-chan is mine._

"Hinata-chan," he whispered breathily into her ear, "are you still cold?"

Blushing again at his closeness, she stiffened and nodded.

"Well, you remember what we learned about preventing hypothermia, right? We should put it to good use. All we would have to do is take off our clothes and lie…"

"Kiba!" Shino called in a slightly higher tone than usual, "That is it! You can just take you and your horn-dog self outside and…"

"Okay, OKAY!" Kiba snapped, "Geez, I was just kidding. I'll stop."

Hinata settled for hiding under a blanket and watching both of her teammates yell.

"I'm serious."

"I am too."

"Whatever. Let's sleep."

Exhausted, Shino flopped back down on the ground. Hinata turned to face Shino once again, and Kiba scooted closer to Hinata. She stiffened again, and hung onto Shino's jacket.

"Don't worry Hinata-chan. Perv-mode is over," Kiba assured her.

Not entirely believing him, she relaxed only slightly. As if on cue, Kiba rested his arm on hers again, and after a few moments, Hinata completely relaxed. Shino sighed and allowed his eyes to close after sensing her movements.

After a while, it didn't seem so cold.

* * *

So...what did you guys think? Tell me (review)! 

I'm thinking about maybe adding a few more chapters featuring the other teams, but... it's all up to you guys in the end.


End file.
